Supernatural Review: Season 9 Episode 18 "Meta Fiction"

By: Robbie Thompson

**Spoilers**
If you have not yet watched this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.


            I don't know what to think about this episode. While I liked the talk about what makes a story and the return of a certain archangel, it didn't feel like anything particularly ground-breaking or incredible. Basically what we have here is a buddy road trip bromance between Castiel and that aforementioned archangel with Sam finally trapping Gadreel and Metatron's megalomaniac tendencies taking stage left. Or at least that was my perception of what left the biggest impact on me. Yeah, yeah the lie was revealed halfway through the episode ("Oh how I hate continuity errors!" - Gabriel) but I still stand by what I said; the most memorable parts of this episode happened with Castiel and his elder brother. I was even a bit disappointed by the fake-out, though I had suspected something was up because Gabriel felt just a bit off. Originally I thought he was Gadreel in disguise and that those strange ingredients had been for a glamour spell. But then that was proved wrong, lulling me into a false sense of security. I am, however, very excited by the fact that Gabriel never denied the fact that he may still be alive.

        I think it's going to be one of those fun, safe episodes that I return to time and time again to watch whenever I'm not in the mood for heavy soul-searching. It was strange and interesting...but didn't exactly blow me away. I really don't know what to make of it...


Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- LOVED the homage to Masterpiece Theatre. Very...Crowley-ish. I was actually surprised to see Metatron instead of the King of Hell. It was funny that he got his own, personalized credits, though. Guess that makes sense if he feels he is the hero in some grand epic of his own making.

- Castiel taking a picture of the sigil with his phone was a nice touch. And this was the guy who couldn't figure out voicemail just a few seasons ago!

- To be quite honest, I'm getting a bit tired of the angel politics sub-plots. Angels walking on earth could have been interesting...but it's turning into a rehash of Season Six's civil war. Fortunately this episode wasn't quite as bad as Captives in that regard, but we really do need something new.

- It was nice to see Gadreel stretch his wings (hehe) a bit as a character. He was really rocking that whole Sith-cloak hoodie, wasn't he?

- "I dropped, I hid, I finally watched Downton Abbey." Oh Trickster...how I do miss you! You called Castiel Columbo. I approve of that comparison...

- I would have LOVED to see Dean's reaction to Gabriel grabbing Cas' phone! I know it wasn't real and all that, but still...

- I will confess that I started laughing a bit whenever Gabriel was giving Cas the 'farewell speech/pep talk' in the convenience store with the demons amassing outside. It's like "Um...guys? You may want to start running? Stop chewing the fat and run? Like NOW?!" 

- Metatron is making Sherlock Holmes references now. Interesting...

- The whole Media Download Thing-y he gave Castiel was very interesting (and looked like it hurt). Does this mean that Castiel will get all of Dean's references now?

- Somehow I get the feeling that Dean only sent Sam away because he didn't want his brother to watch what he did to Gadreel.

- Gadreel should have run faster or risked the holy fire. Now he has an angry Dean Winchester in full protective big brother mode working him over. I wonder if Dean pulled out any of Alistair's tricks?

- I am also feeling rather vindicated that my theories about Gadreel are turning out to be right. He isn't a bad guy. He's a bit misled and all that (he thinks letting the snake into the Garden of Eden was setting humanity free) and is desperate to get back into Heaven's good graces, but he isn't evil like Zachariah or Metatron. He really had intended to just heal Sam at first and then go on his way. It's all Metatron's fault, really.

- And speaking of Metatron...the former Scribe of God has officially taken his train to the funny farm and gone off the rails. Remember whenever Castiel tried to play God? Remember how that turned out? Well poor Cas had the excuse of being naive and meaning well and being manipulated by Leviathan. Metatron doesn't. He's loony...but it's scary loony because he's also smart. Like Moriarty minus all the flirting...

- Okay. So it REALLY ticks me off whenever someone indicates that Sam doesn't care as much about Dean as Dean cares about Sam or that Sam wouldn't do anything for his brother. Dude! Sam has sacrificed so much for Dean. In Season One he didn't kill the demon possessing his father, even whenever John begged him to do it, because he knew it would crush Dean to have their father die by his hands and because Dean needed medical attention RIGHT AWAY. In Season 2 Sam quietly and persistently tried to help Dean work through his issues with John even after Dean lashed out at him and despite the fact that he was dealing with his own guilt, grief, and blinding-migraine-inducing demonic visions. Season 3 - Sam works tirelessly to find a way to get Dean out of the deal, even though it could mean his own life. Season 4 comes and Sam has had to bury his brother's body, live with the fact that Dean is now damned to Hell, and go on alone. So what did he do? He started drinking demon blood and working on turning his powers to be something that could help him fulfill one of Dean's last requests: that he get on with his life and continue fighting the good fight. Then his brother comes back a changed man and starts telling him that he is going down the wrong path, never stopping to listen to Sam's reasoning or to explain why that reasoning is wrong. Angels come into play - the beings that Sam has had faith in and prayed to every night since he was a child - and once again he is cast aside. So he keeps stubbornly fighting, certain that the end will justify the means whenever he saves his brother from the burden of destiny. Obviously that didn't work out, so Sam then spent Season 5 trying desperately to atone for his sins - in the end wrestling Lucifer himself into submission and jumping into the darkest depths of Hell. Seasons 6 & 7 go without saying. And in Season 8 Sam went out of his way to keep on helping Dean and be hopeful even as the trials were tearing him apart. Remind me how he hasn't done anything for his brother again? Sam's just not as openly demonstrative as his older brother is.

- Not that I'm trying to imply that Dean is anything less. No, the whole point of that long soapbox rant was to say that the brothers are equals when it comes to devotion and they should be treated as such.

- So Castiel's stolen grace is beginning to wear thin. Huh. I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop with that whole affair (it just seemed too easy a fix for this show) and I'm anxious to see how this all will play out. Is it going to come back in the season finale? Or will it be dealt with sooner? We're up to Episode 18, so there aren't all that many left...

              All in all, I think this was a good episode. I said I didn't know what to make of it, but I can say that I enjoyed it very much. It wasn't a drag to get through, the pacing and action moved along nicely, the humour was there as well as the dark tension, and it gave us a few missing pieces to the season story arc that were missing before. Maybe a 4/5?

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?